What about a tire survey?

[36654]

As an example, I liked all the Michelin Road tires I've had on my bikes, but treadwear/life dropped at generation 5 and the prices jumped.  The Dunlop RS4 is similar or better on wear/tread life and the price is lower.

I liked the Pilot Road 4 but did not like the tire life of the 5. Never tried the Road 6.
I like the Roadsmart III but never tried the IV.

The RS4 rear is wearing really well and will do over 10K before I hit the wear bars.  The first RS4 front was a disappointment.  It must have been a manufacturing error.........the location of the center mold seam varied around the tire and there was a slight side-to-side vibration at all speeds.  The second RS4 front has none of that.  If the second front had been similar to the first RS4 front, I wouldn't have considered Dunlop in the future.

[NormR]

I used Michelin Road 3-4-5's on one bike and don't ever remember getting less then 10-12 thousand kms on them. I also found them very reliable in the twisties and since I am a "slow in the straights/fast in the corners" kind of guy appreciated them tremendously. I've tried the Metzeler 01's on my old FZ1 and also liked them but not enough to give up on the Michelins. I'm very intrigued about these Dunlop Roadsmarts now. Have very little experiences with them though. What do people like about them?

[36654]

I used Michelin Road 3-4-5's on one bike and don't ever remember getting less then 10-12 thousand kms on them. I also found them very reliable in the twisties and since I am a "slow in the straights/fast in the corners" kind of guy appreciated them tremendously. I've tried the Metzeler 01's on my old FZ1 and also liked them but not enough to give up on the Michelins. I'm very intrigued about these Dunlop Roadsmarts now. Have very little experiences with them though. What do people like about them?

Similar traction, better mileage, and a lower price relative to the Road 5s.

[Ray]

Perhaps out of place, but a reminder that we should not judge the quality of tire models by what comes on on the bike. Kicking tires today at the shop holiday party with a new RT rider complaining about his OEM Metzlers..., made in China. Well known that the brand names tires on new bikes are often subcontracted.

[36654]

Metzler is owned by Pirelli which is owned by the Chinese National Chemical Company. So, the Chinese manufactured product might be from higher up the corporate ladder.

[Lee]

I usually replace tires early so we have good tires for a trip.
The Pilot Road 4 I could probably get 9,000 miles.
   


I could probably get 10,000 miles out of a RoadSmart III
This RS III had 8,450 miles and had 3/32" at the center.
   


Edit:
I forgot about this Pilot Road 4 picture.
Debbie's tire on the left had 8,794 miles.
My tire on the right had 9,074 miles.

   

I only tried the front Road 5 and seems like it was done in half the miles a Pilot Road 4 front would last.

[36654]

Lee,

My experience with Road 4 and 5 tires was very similar. The Road 4 front and rear were replaced after 9450 miles. The subsequent Road 5 set was less impressive. The front Road 5 was replaced after 5830 miles, but the rear delivered 9610 miles of service (similar to the previous Road 4 rear). I replaced the first Road 5 front with a Road 5GT which provided 7200 miles of service.

[maxredline]

I also have been a Michelin guy for awhile so I will vote Michelins. My next set are Dunlop's due to the positive inputs by darrel and others at this site.

[Duckbubbles]

I have been a Michelin guy since before the "Roads" were introduced, as in the original radial tires (A89?).
Not included in the poll are the Pilot Power 2CT.  The more road oriented track tires.  I have sets of them on my '23 RS and '03 R11S BCR.  Don't know what mileage I'll get on the RS but I have topped 6500 miles on the R11S a couple of times.  With the Road 5 front down to the wear bars at 6500 miles I figure if they last close to that I am good with it.  Plus they are around $100 cheaper a set than the R5 and $150+ cheaper that the R6.  Even more if you factor in the GT.
They give a softer edged ride and more grip than any of the others and I am willing to trade some absolute mileage for the increased grip.  YMMV

Frank

[maxredline]

Not included in the poll are the Pilot Power 2CT. 
Frank

Yes, good point. I love the 2CT for my type of riding.

[c10]

OEM Road 5's on my new 2023 RS were pretty poor performer . Dunlop Mutants are much better than my OEM , but not what I'm going to go with next set . Road 4's were pretty good on the Hayabusa .

[Neptune]

I use MICHELIN ROAD 6 and find I replace 2 fronts to every 1 rear. I used the ROAD 5 before that. I daily all-weather primarily highway "sometimes spirited" and cross country uncaged. The biggest impact to me is keeping it at 36F/42R air pressure. My rear has 16k on it good for about 4-6 months and front 8k good for about 6-8 months daily riding 20mi a few days a week at least 60mi. I replace at wear bars. I shift on the screen ^ up arrow recommendation almost always and I slow with engine breaking, and then the front break (linked to back) almost exclusively unless I want to stop faster then I use the rear break. (bad habit to do this but I get away with it because it's linked breaking).

-Neptune

[thestumper]

Not included in the poll are the Pilot Power 2CT. 
Frank

Yes, good point. I love the 2CT for my type of riding.

Zombie thread warning.... but I'll throw in for the 2CT's as well.  I've had them on everything from a Sprint ST to a GSX-R to an R1 and now the RS.  They don't last long, but man they stick.  I never get more than around 3000-3500 miles per rear anyway - sometimes less.  I tried a lot of ST tires and they all gave up the ghost around the same miles so I decided I might has well have to grip vs. and extra 4-500 miles.  

That said, my next set will likely be a "state-of-the-art" newer ST tire.  I have to think that in the time I started using the 2CTs and today, a lot has changed.  I had Roadsmart 3s on my VFR for a while and I liked them.  The IVs are probably even better but they are spendy.  I remember having Avon ST's on Triumph for a while and I really liked them, but they're as long in the tooth as the 2CT IIRC.  Price is right though...  and they look cool

[NormR]

I just replaced my ROAD 6's after 18,000kms or 11,000 miles. The front was scalloped pretty bad and the back was almost down flat to the wear marks. Pretty impressive mileage. I will be sticking with the road 6's for the foreseeable future. As someone already mentioned, I also had to adjust the air pressure as I kept losing a pound or two of air in both tires over a short time. Hope this was a one-off thing and my new set of tires are more "air tight"

[Grumpy Goat]

I just replaced my ROAD 6's after 18,000kms or 11,000 miles. The front was scalloped pretty bad and the back was almost down flat to the wear marks. Pretty impressive mileage. I will be sticking with the road 6's for the foreseeable future. As someone already mentioned, I also had to adjust the air pressure as I kept losing a pound or two of air in both tires over a short time. Hope this was a one-off thing and my new set of tires are more "air tight"

I used to have similar mileage when I rode the ROAD 4's (or was it the 5's?) but (a) the fronts wore out slower than the rears (which is normal) and (b) they were pretty scalloped but the time they were changed out.

Since that time, I switched over to my go-to tire for the RS, Dunlop Roadsmart III / IV, and both variants exhibited zero scalloping under same rider and riding conditions. Mileage is about the same and dry/wet performance is similar. Air pressure drops are similar to the Michelins (which I would expect since that is a mounting / valve stem issue). The Dunlops are also cheaper. Loved the Michelins but I found these Dunlops were a much better value.

[NormR]

I just replaced my ROAD 6's after 18,000kms or 11,000 miles. The front was scalloped pretty bad and the back was almost down flat to the wear marks. Pretty impressive mileage. I will be sticking with the road 6's for the foreseeable future. As someone already mentioned, I also had to adjust the air pressure as I kept losing a pound or two of air in both tires over a short time. Hope this was a one-off thing and my new set of tires are more "air tight"

I used to have similar mileage when I rode the ROAD 4's (or was it the 5's?) but (a) the fronts wore out slower than the rears (which is normal) and (b) they were pretty scalloped but the time they were changed out.

Since that time, I switched over to my go-to tire for the RS, Dunlop Roadsmart III / IV, and both variants exhibited zero scalloping under same rider and riding conditions. Mileage is about the same and dry/wet performance is similar. Air pressure drops are similar to the Michelins (which I would expect since that is a mounting / valve stem issue). The Dunlops are also cheaper. Loved the Michelins but I found these Dunlops were a much better value.

How are you on the front brakes? I am somewhat hard on my brakes when on a spirited ride so I wonder if that has something to do with it?

[Grumpy Goat]

I used to have similar mileage when I rode the ROAD 4's (or was it the 5's?) but (a) the fronts wore out slower than the rears (which is normal) and (b) they were pretty scalloped but the time they were changed out.

Since that time, I switched over to my go-to tire for the RS, Dunlop Roadsmart III / IV, and both variants exhibited zero scalloping under same rider and riding conditions. Mileage is about the same and dry/wet performance is similar. Air pressure drops are similar to the Michelins (which I would expect since that is a mounting / valve stem issue). The Dunlops are also cheaper. Loved the Michelins but I found these Dunlops were a much better value.

How are you on the front brakes? I am somewhat hard on my brakes when on a spirited ride so I wonder if that has something to do with it?

On the RS the brakes are partially linked, so when the front brake lever is pulled both brakes are activated, unless you press the rear brake pedal at some point. The system dynamically adjusts the braking effort, but it typically apportions about 70% to 80% of the braking power to the front wheels and 20% to 30% to the rear.

I typically use this feature 99% of the time.

On my Tiger which does not have any degree of linked brakes I use the front brakes (only) 90% of the time and essentially only use the rear brake sometimes when mid-corner and usually when coming to a stop at a light (I like how it keeps the bike level).

Point is, I am not usually hard on my front brakes as I prefer a smoother riding approach, using engine braking as much as I can. Brakes and tires last much longer that way.